Hey,
It's been a looong time since my last blog...because planning and executing the wedding took everything I had and then every moment since has been hectic.
I wanted to write my blogs about the wedding in small parts. It will help me to remember it all in smaller 'peices' and it wont overwhelm/bore (?) beloved Sue who recommended I write shorter blogs. I love you, Sue. I'm defo gonna try.
Also - I want to upload pics (as I go along on this saga of wedding blogging) of:
* planning the wedding - how very blessed of God I am and how every detail was robed in God's favour
* The lead up (including my awesome Hen's high tea) to the wedding
* The day/night before with my bridesmaids Caris and Jess
* THE WEDDING DAY (woo!)
* The day after/The honeymoon
So uh yeah *smile* hold on tight - we're going on quite a long literary ride :)
Let's start with the week leading up to the wedding:
At this point, I was still paying things off. I honestly was still working my ass off and praying and trying to pay for wedding things until the day before OF wedding. It was a stress, but you know what? Praise God, it all got done.
* The invites had been made and sent out
* The cupcakes (which would serve both as dessert for the night and the wedding favours) had been ordered (but weren't fully paid for until 2 days before the wedding)
The hotel had been booked (there's a lovely story behind this that I want to share with you in a minute)
* The wedding flowers had been ordered and paid for (also another story behind this)
Wedding Jenga had been ordered and arrived - this would serve as a Wedding Guest book for our beloved friends and family to sign - ended up being the most perfect idea ever.
My wedding dress had been beautifully altered and was ready for collection a week before the wedding
* Caris and I had shopped for wedding jewelery, underwear and any other 'last minute' items - including a mobile speaker so we could play the wedding song I had chosen to 'walk down the aisle' in
* The Wedding Ceremony had been confirmed and fully paid for by Alun
* I had met with the Etro Function Co ordinator (Ash) a few times and a final panicked time (she hugged me so many times, bless her) a week before the wedding to finalise wedding platters, the drinks list and how I wanted the bar set up for the night
The Wedding Cupcakes Story:
As you'll find out through all my blogging, my wedding to gorgeous Alun had God's favour shining all through it. Even as I write, I have to shake my head in wonder at how blessed we were in every detail. One of the blessings was with the wedding cupcake boxes. I ordered them 6 weeks before the wedding from Ebay. 100 flat-packed beautiful boxes with silver inserts. Perfect for my 'peaches and cream' wedding dream.
But 2 weeks before the wedding, there was no sign of them. I was starting to worry. I contacted the seller who was lovely. She wrote back right away "oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. I shipped them the day after you ordered them (and she provided proof with a tracking number) so they should have gotten you to well before now. The lovely lady - let's call her "Susan" also said "I know you'll be worrying so I'll send you another box of 100 cupcake boxes today. I'll ship them to you express"
...they arrived 3 days later. Free of charge :)
The Rydges Hotel Room Story:
When I booked and paid the deposit on the Rydges Hotel room, I was paying wiht the last bit of money in my account and didnt know if any more was going to come in. I was stressed and unhappy in my role at *Clarks and felt I'd either get fired or leave at any moment because I hated it so much. I selected the cheapest room they had - the Queen Bedroom. A small room that was neat and tidy in a hotel that was really close to the Reception venue. Perfect. Affordable (just) and somewhere my bridesmaids and I could use as 'home base' before and during the wedding as well as somewhere Al and I could spend our first night together as husband and wife.
I went into the Rydges Lobby a week before the wedding to confirm my booking and try to pay a little towards the full cost of their Queen Bed Room for 2 nights. "Here you are, Ms Hill" the beautiful Receptonist said "The King Room, 2 nights".
Huh?
Oh Lord. This was going to be really expensive. I can't afford this.
"Um...(I cleared my throat) I only ordered a Queen Room, sorry"
"It says here on the system that your friend Linda called and got you upgraded a few weeks ago...that's really sweet" the Receptionist told me.
Oh Linda...you sweetheart. Thank you.
"So just check in anytime after 2pm on Thursday and enjoy" the receptionist added.
"Thank you" I nodded and couldn't believe how blessed I am with such great friends.
I turned to leave but that's when things got even better.
"So...Uhh...Why have you requested an extra roll-away bed for the first night but not the second?" she enquired.
"Oh...um...My two bridesmaids and I are staying the night before the wedding...and then (and I couldnt help but squeal and wiggle happily) my new husband and I will stay here on our wedding night" I beamed my happy "bride-to-be" grin at her "I cant wait to marry Alun" I admitted. "I love him so much"
"Aww!" she beamed a beautiful smile back at me "You are so cute. Hey, bear with me a moment, ok?"
and she typed away on her keyboard.
"I hope you wont mind, but I've upgraded you further. You and your bridesmaids and then new husband will be enjoying our top Spa Suite for both nights...with my compliments"
Are you serious?
"Oh my gosh" I couldn't shut my mouth. It gaped open in wonder and gratefulness.
What was a Spa Suite?
"Thank you so much" I whispered
Then I added, "Can I come around the desk and hug you?
She nodded, so we hugged.
Here's a few pics of the GORGEOUS Spa Suite we stayed in:
The bedroom was MASSIVE and the floor-to-ceiling windows showed Perth city at it's finest and there were two 32-inch TV's with foxtel channels! Amazing!
The bathroom was MASSIVE but I didnt take pictures of it, sorry. I did, however take pictures of the gorgeous huge spa...Alun and I relaxed in it the morning after our wedding and it was LUSH.
These are the wedding Invites. I 'made' and ordered them online with "Vistaprint" (not really - they were designed already, I just added text and changed the style ever so slightly to suit a more 'girly' wedding style). I bought gorgeous butterfly stick-ons from Office works and loved them! I added them to the invitations and also bought a gorgeous pack of red envelopes. I bought some tiny silver cards and envelopes also. These, I cut in half and printed a little sign explaining to some of our guests that we couldnt have everyone we loved at the Wedding Ceremony but that Alun and I would be so honoured if they'd attend our Reception party afterwards. I stuck diamontes on these. Can I just say - they looked awesome!
Lastly, here's a pic of the wedding cupcake Boxes. The boxes came flat packed so Alun and I spent an evening watching TV and folding the boxes into shape, then lovingly placing the custom stickers on. Just holding them gave me hope of the wedding of my dreams. They look pretty amazing, don't they?
It's been a looong time since my last blog...because planning and executing the wedding took everything I had and then every moment since has been hectic.
I wanted to write my blogs about the wedding in small parts. It will help me to remember it all in smaller 'peices' and it wont overwhelm/bore (?) beloved Sue who recommended I write shorter blogs. I love you, Sue. I'm defo gonna try.
Also - I want to upload pics (as I go along on this saga of wedding blogging) of:
* planning the wedding - how very blessed of God I am and how every detail was robed in God's favour
* The lead up (including my awesome Hen's high tea) to the wedding
* The day/night before with my bridesmaids Caris and Jess
* THE WEDDING DAY (woo!)
* The day after/The honeymoon
So uh yeah *smile* hold on tight - we're going on quite a long literary ride :)
Let's start with the week leading up to the wedding:
At this point, I was still paying things off. I honestly was still working my ass off and praying and trying to pay for wedding things until the day before OF wedding. It was a stress, but you know what? Praise God, it all got done.
* The invites had been made and sent out
* The cupcakes (which would serve both as dessert for the night and the wedding favours) had been ordered (but weren't fully paid for until 2 days before the wedding)
The hotel had been booked (there's a lovely story behind this that I want to share with you in a minute)
* The wedding flowers had been ordered and paid for (also another story behind this)
Wedding Jenga had been ordered and arrived - this would serve as a Wedding Guest book for our beloved friends and family to sign - ended up being the most perfect idea ever.
My wedding dress had been beautifully altered and was ready for collection a week before the wedding
* Caris and I had shopped for wedding jewelery, underwear and any other 'last minute' items - including a mobile speaker so we could play the wedding song I had chosen to 'walk down the aisle' in
* The Wedding Ceremony had been confirmed and fully paid for by Alun
* I had met with the Etro Function Co ordinator (Ash) a few times and a final panicked time (she hugged me so many times, bless her) a week before the wedding to finalise wedding platters, the drinks list and how I wanted the bar set up for the night
The Wedding Cupcakes Story:
As you'll find out through all my blogging, my wedding to gorgeous Alun had God's favour shining all through it. Even as I write, I have to shake my head in wonder at how blessed we were in every detail. One of the blessings was with the wedding cupcake boxes. I ordered them 6 weeks before the wedding from Ebay. 100 flat-packed beautiful boxes with silver inserts. Perfect for my 'peaches and cream' wedding dream.
But 2 weeks before the wedding, there was no sign of them. I was starting to worry. I contacted the seller who was lovely. She wrote back right away "oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that. I shipped them the day after you ordered them (and she provided proof with a tracking number) so they should have gotten you to well before now. The lovely lady - let's call her "Susan" also said "I know you'll be worrying so I'll send you another box of 100 cupcake boxes today. I'll ship them to you express"
...they arrived 3 days later. Free of charge :)
The Rydges Hotel Room Story:
When I booked and paid the deposit on the Rydges Hotel room, I was paying wiht the last bit of money in my account and didnt know if any more was going to come in. I was stressed and unhappy in my role at *Clarks and felt I'd either get fired or leave at any moment because I hated it so much. I selected the cheapest room they had - the Queen Bedroom. A small room that was neat and tidy in a hotel that was really close to the Reception venue. Perfect. Affordable (just) and somewhere my bridesmaids and I could use as 'home base' before and during the wedding as well as somewhere Al and I could spend our first night together as husband and wife.
I went into the Rydges Lobby a week before the wedding to confirm my booking and try to pay a little towards the full cost of their Queen Bed Room for 2 nights. "Here you are, Ms Hill" the beautiful Receptonist said "The King Room, 2 nights".
Huh?
Oh Lord. This was going to be really expensive. I can't afford this.
"Um...(I cleared my throat) I only ordered a Queen Room, sorry"
"It says here on the system that your friend Linda called and got you upgraded a few weeks ago...that's really sweet" the Receptionist told me.
Oh Linda...you sweetheart. Thank you.
"So just check in anytime after 2pm on Thursday and enjoy" the receptionist added.
"Thank you" I nodded and couldn't believe how blessed I am with such great friends.
I turned to leave but that's when things got even better.
"So...Uhh...Why have you requested an extra roll-away bed for the first night but not the second?" she enquired.
"Oh...um...My two bridesmaids and I are staying the night before the wedding...and then (and I couldnt help but squeal and wiggle happily) my new husband and I will stay here on our wedding night" I beamed my happy "bride-to-be" grin at her "I cant wait to marry Alun" I admitted. "I love him so much"
"Aww!" she beamed a beautiful smile back at me "You are so cute. Hey, bear with me a moment, ok?"
and she typed away on her keyboard.
"I hope you wont mind, but I've upgraded you further. You and your bridesmaids and then new husband will be enjoying our top Spa Suite for both nights...with my compliments"
Are you serious?
"Oh my gosh" I couldn't shut my mouth. It gaped open in wonder and gratefulness.
What was a Spa Suite?
"Thank you so much" I whispered
Then I added, "Can I come around the desk and hug you?
She nodded, so we hugged.
Here's a few pics of the GORGEOUS Spa Suite we stayed in:
The bedroom was MASSIVE and the floor-to-ceiling windows showed Perth city at it's finest and there were two 32-inch TV's with foxtel channels! Amazing!
Instead of ordering a "roll-in" extra bed for Jess, I was so blessed to find out - after a quick call to reception to shyly ask for a trundle bed - where I was told the couch turned into a glorious double bed - so Jess (one of my bridesmaids) had a very comfortable sleep the night before the wedding while Caris and I shared the incredibly cloud-like King bed in the bedroom area. You can't see it because of the angle of this pic, but the bed is facing a huge flat-screen television.
The bathroom was MASSIVE but I didnt take pictures of it, sorry. I did, however take pictures of the gorgeous huge spa...Alun and I relaxed in it the morning after our wedding and it was LUSH.
These are the wedding Invites. I 'made' and ordered them online with "Vistaprint" (not really - they were designed already, I just added text and changed the style ever so slightly to suit a more 'girly' wedding style). I bought gorgeous butterfly stick-ons from Office works and loved them! I added them to the invitations and also bought a gorgeous pack of red envelopes. I bought some tiny silver cards and envelopes also. These, I cut in half and printed a little sign explaining to some of our guests that we couldnt have everyone we loved at the Wedding Ceremony but that Alun and I would be so honoured if they'd attend our Reception party afterwards. I stuck diamontes on these. Can I just say - they looked awesome!
Lastly, here's a pic of the wedding cupcake Boxes. The boxes came flat packed so Alun and I spent an evening watching TV and folding the boxes into shape, then lovingly placing the custom stickers on. Just holding them gave me hope of the wedding of my dreams. They look pretty amazing, don't they?
My Wedding Dress:
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